LOVE IS BLIND

( ....is it what they call love ?)

"No way! Mom, what do you think I am? You think I would agree to marry that nerd?" said Raheela.

"My dear, Arshad is a very nice guy; above all, he is very simple and decent. He will keep you very happy, throughout your life. Guys like him are very rare and we know him since his childhood. He has a good job, smart looks and sincerity. What else do you want?"

"Whatever you say, my answer is NO."

Raheela was second in number among three of her siblings. Her elder sister got married to a local bank officer in the city of Abbottabad .Her younger brother was studying for his graduation degree in Mathematics. Born in the home of a primary school teacher, the three children were very hard working .Mr. Jamil always wanted that his children should get higher education than he had got.

Zareen , the elder daughter did her Masters in Education .Raheela was doing her Bachelors in Fine Arts. While he was in Inter ,she developed a keen interest for reading romantic novels. She would spend half of her pocket money in buying novels of her choice .Gradually she started imagining she was a princess and the Prince Charming would come some day to take her away. This was the reason of her rejection to Arshad's proposal.

One day, while returning from college, Raheela met a guy, named Aziz.He was nothing more than a road-side Romeo. He was after Raheela for many weeks and she was also a bit interested in him, as he completely fulfilled the criteria of being a novel hero- smoking, riding bikes rashly on the roads and becoming trouble for everyone. Of course he had the looks of a rough and tough guy.

Both were attracted to each other. So, a love affair started in the mist .Aziz would meet her regularly, after college. For Raheela's family, they knew that she was having afternoon classes, so she came late.

Soon their passion reached such heights that Aziz started coming to Raheela's home at night , to meet her on the roof.

One day, Raheela's elder sister saw both of them making merry while sitting in a city restaurant. When questioned about the whole affair Raheela confessed that she was with Aziz, he was her first and last love. Knowing the fact that he did not belong to their community and caste, Zareen warned Raheela of the consequences but it was of no use.

Raheela had decided that she would marry Aziz and everything would be fine. For her, it was a true , never ending love affair. As a result, they both ran away from their homes one night and got married.

Life was full of joy and happiness but this heaven was only to last for four weeks, after which Aziz showed the true side of his character.He started beating Raheela over trivial matters.One day, he announced that they were leaving for Multan, as he was going to start a small business there.

When they reached Mutlan, Aziz's attitude started getting worse day by day. One day, he took Raheela's jewllery and sold it. He returned home at night, fully drunk. Raheela could never imagine, even in her dreams, that this was the night which would change her life for ever.Aziz came home with a woman and three men.They discussed something with Aziz and gave him Rs.35000 in cash.Raheela was very happy , she thought it was a business deal. Yes! It was a business deal, a deal in which she was sold .

Raheela was taken by force. She found herself trapped in a red-light area, with prostitutes around. She tried to run away from the place but was caught by those who had bought her for Rs.35000. They forced her to do what they wanted but she refused every time.

One night, she was running to escape from the area. At once she heard a bullet being fired .Her left leg was badly injured and she was bleeding profusely. At once, she was taken for medical aid. She became unconscious. When she awoke, her left leg was motionless as it had been amputated.

After a few weeks, she was discharged from the hospital .The people who had bought her, treated her face with acid, to make her look terrible. They made her sit in the central square of Multan, to beg for money.

It so happened that every day Arshad would go to his bank from the same pathway where Raheela used to sit begging. Every day Arshad would put a penny in Raheela's hand, assuming that she was a woman totally rejected by the world Raheela on the other hand would always say to herself, " It is true that Love is blind always".